


Winter Break

by tenisa



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:42:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenisa/pseuds/tenisa
Summary: When the girls decided to take a trip to Colorado to change Rapinoe's mind after her breakup, none of them had imagined that an encounter between Ali and a certain snowboard teacher was going to be the highlight of the trip.Basically the snowboard AU nobody asked for.





	1. When the girls decide to go on winter vacation

**Author's Note:**

> I've started writing this story about 3 years ago but never finished it. I have a few chapters already written and I hope that your feedback will motivate me to actually finish the story. It should be around 8-10 chapters long (4 already written). I'm planning to post around 2 chapters a week give or take.  
> Small warning : English is not my first language so I apologize if things are sometimes weirdly written.
> 
> In this first chapter Pinoe just broke up with her girlfriend (bear in mind I wrote it 3 years ago so it was not Sue Bird but just a random chick to get my story going haha) and her friends Ali, Kelley and Crystal (can't remember why I chose this specific group of friends but let's roll with it) decide to cheer her up by taking a trip.  
> There is no Ashlyn yet as the first encounter will occur in chapter 2.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy it!

Chapter 1

“ Come on Pinoe! You’ve got to do something. You can’t live on the couch forever. It’s been almost a week. I know it sucks but emotional eating isn’t the way to get over her. You have to leave that couch and move your ass. And you should really shower because you kinda stink right now,” started Kelley.

“I don’t want to.” Pinoe curled up in a ball. “Everything just seems boring without her, I feel like crap. I haven’t even told a joke since-“

“Way too long…come on, clean yourself up, the girls are coming over tonight.” 

“Wait, what? I don’t want them to see me like that.”

“I leave you no choice. They are coming and we will have an intervention, you can’t go on like that.”

************

One hour later, Ali and Crystal came in the apartment shared by Kelley and Pinoe bringing some Chinese takeout and a bottle of wine. They hadn’t seen Pinoe since her breakup. Even though Kelley had filled them up with the basics, they weren’t expecting such a heartbroken Pinoe. Instead of the usual funny and good-humored shorthaired girl, a quiet and tired girl had replaced her. Something was definitely wrong with Pinoe and her breakup seemed to be far worse than what they initially thought. They knew they had to do something to make her feel better but they had no clue how. 

Pinoe slowly lifted her head when her two friends sat on both side of the couch. She quietly greeted them with a nod. 

“Damn Girl! You look like shit. I get that your breakup was tough but whatever you are doing right now isn’t doing you any good. You have to do something fun to clear your head.” Crystal did some dance moves. “Let’s go daaaaancing!” 

“Hum…I don’t feel like dancing.” Pinoe shrugged.

“I would love to go dancing but I highly doubt that will help Pinoe. I think we should do something different…what about taking a trip somewhere?” 

When Ali said those last words, she didn’t have something specific in mind. She did however feel like going on a vacation wouldn’t hurt anybody. She had just finished working on an important deal for her company and she was almost sure that her boss wouldn’t mind if she took a week off. Plus she needed a break. 

Kelley and Crystal immediately agreed. It couldn’t do them any harm, especially Pinoe. Now the problem was about the destination. While they all were good friends, they always had some difficulties to agree on an activity. Kelley wanted to go to San Francisco, Crystal to New York City and Ali to Florida. They were debating when Pinoe suddenly raised her voice, “What about we go skiing?”

All the girls stopped talking and stared at her, waiting for her to go on.  
“I mean…I know you won’t leave me alone if I don’t agree with your idea, so the least you can do is let me choose where we are going. You’re doing it for me, right?”

“Of course,” responded the three girls in unison. 

“You have to know that I’ve never skied before,” added Crystal, “but I’m sure I will kick your ass after one day!”

“Ha I highly doubt it. You will not even feel your own ass after falling all the time,” joked Pinoe. Crystal gave her a hard stare before smiling, “You’re lucky I am happy you’re slowly coming back to your old sarcastic self, otherwise, I would have so not talk to you for another hour.”

“Easy you two, I wouldn’t want you to fight for something you have no chance since of course I’m the best skier ever,” Kelley winked at the two girls.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to find out,” said Ali.

The girls spent the next hour planning their vacation. Kelley had spent some spring breaks in Colorado with her family so she was the one in charge of the location. She remembered a friend from college who she knew had a small condo in Winter Park. She quickly called him and he agreed to lend his condo to her and her friends the following week. She wasn’t sure her boss would let her take a week off on such short notice but it was worth the shot.

When Ali and Crystal left the apartment, almost everything was planned. They had agreed on the length of the stay, the day of departure, the place where they were staying and how they were going to get there. They were both tipsy from the wine and over-excited. As they were walking on the street to go to their own apartment five blocks down, Ali was already making a mental list of everything she needed to buy for the trip. Not that she needed an excuse to go shopping but it was always better to have an occasion in mind.

************

“Mmmmh I’m not sure it looks good on me,” said Ali.

“Come on, you’ve tried at least 50 snow pants, just take one for God’s sake, they all look the same” Pinoe sighed.

“Megan, they do not look the same. Don’t you see the difference in the shade of black? These ones are too dark and they are too loose on my ankles. They just don’t fit that’s all, can’t you go back in the store and bring me others?”

“Gosh, I knew it was a bad idea to agree on a shopping day with you. I can’t believe I let you drag me in that store. Life was better on my couch-”

“No it was not. I’m doing you a favor by taking you outside of your apartment, you should be thankful,” Ali flashed her perfect smile, “Now can you please return me the favor and bring me some snow pants?” 

“I can’t believe I’m about to follow your orders. I always wonder how I can put up with you,” teased Pinoe, “you are such a princess. I can’t wait for you to find somebody to replace me for shopping duties. ” Pinoe quickly disappeared, leaving Ali rolling her eyes at her. She came back a few minutes later carrying snow pants in her arms. “I hope the ones are in there because I definitely don’t want to spend the entire day in the dressing rooms.”

“They’re the ones. They just fit my legs perfectly. I need them,” blurted Ali.

“Yeees! We’re finally done.” Pinoe fist-pumped in the air.

“I think I’m all set for the trip. Like I always say, look good, feel good, ski good.”

“Haha that’s so not what you always say. Besides it will be hard for you to look good next to me, I’m stunning,” joked Pinoe.

************

The departure day has finally come. As it was planned, Kelley and Pinoe drove to Ali and Crystal’s apartment to pick them up. Crystal was already waiting outside while Ali was still trying to close her suitcase in the living room. Saying that she had packed too much was an understatement. It looked like she was going on a three-months expedition in the North Pole. Kelley had to leave the car to go help Ali. She sat on the suitcase while Ali was trying to close it. After a 10-minutes effort it was finally closed. Ali had to hold her ski jacket because there was no room in her luggage. She dragged her suitcase outside and the girls were facing another problem. Kelley’s car trunk seemed small compared to all the bags that were supposed to fit in it. They took it as a challenge and Ali even said that they should think of it as a puzzle, like a Tetris game. After a common effort they succeeded and were ready to leave the town.

The 12-hours drive seemed endless. The girls couldn’t wait to reach their destination and get some sleep. They made a few bathroom breaks and stopped for food a few times. Crystal sang loudly the entire ride and when they finally came to a stop in front of the condo, everybody’s ears were buzzing. They were happy to find their personal space back and not be stuck in a small car. 

Since it was already dark, they didn’t spend much time outside taking in the scenery. They quickly moved all their bags in the living room and called it a night after Ali had yawned a few times. They decided to switch things up and Ali roomed with Kelley in the two bedrooms condo. They were all exhausted from the travelling and as soon as their head touched the pillow, they fell asleep, dreaming about the next day.


	2. When Ali meets Ashlyn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gals need some skis so what else than going to the ski rental shop. Oh and guess what? Ashlyn works there.  
> The chapter when Ali meets a sexy snowboard instructor and sign up for a lesson thanks to Pinoe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to already post the second chapter because we need Ashlyn and Ali to finally meet. Plus I was finally able to finish chapter 4 (I got stuck for 2 years on it so I'm glad it's behind me now) and feel quite inspired to keep writing.  
> Hope you enjoy the story so far!

Chapter 2

“Come on girls, wake up!” Pinoe burst in Ali’s room and started to jump on the bed like an excited puppy. “You’ve gotta see outside, it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to hit the slopes. We have to get moving.”

“What a way to be woken up, did Ali and I adopt a kid yesterday?” Kelley stretched her arms and playfully pushed Pinoe out of the bed.

“As your kid you have to make me breakfast or I’ll go back to living on the couch doing nothing for the rest of my life.”

“Are you trying to manipulate me? ‘Cause it’s never going to work.” Kelly took her pillow and jumped on Pinoe. Ali slowly opened her eyes, “Guys pleaaaase, stop acting out like kids…I’m trying to sleep here.” Kelley and Pinoe froze and gave each other a knowing look before jumping on Ali and tickling her. “Stooooop, please,” Ali let out between two laughs, “I need to breathe.” Crystal joined the three girls in their friendly fight, throwing her pillow at everybody. Their pillow fight lasted a few minutes before Pinoe’s stomach growled, signaling that it was time for breakfast.

Half an hour later, the four girls were enjoying pancakes with chocolate syrup at a coffee shop down the street. They animatedly planned their week over breakfast. They only had four days here and they wanted to make the best out of them. They agreed on skiing for three days starting from today and leaving around lunch on their fourth day to go back home. They realized they had to hurry up if they wanted to be able to rent their ski equipment before noon. They hastily finished up their breakfast before heading for the ski rental shop. 

************

“Good morning ladies, how can I help you?” asked the shop assistant.

“Well we would like to be ski superstars but we need some skies and boots before that can happen,” Pinoe replied.

The man grinned and started to ask each lady their shoe size before bringing different kind of boots. Crystal was the only one who hadn’t skied before and she was surprised when the man came back with some kind of torture shoes. It didn’t look comfortable and when she slipped her foot inside, it felt as it looked, painful. Crystal asked if he had more comfortable shoes, which made the other girls burst into laughter. She tried a few pairs on and finally found one that seemed better than the others. When all the girls were set with the shoes, the shop assistant took them to another room where all the skies were stocked. As soon as they stepped in, Ali noticed a blond girl concentrated over a table, where skis were laying. She was absorbed in her work which consisted of waxing skis with a hot air gun. Ali was hypnotized by that girl and couldn’t take her eyes off her. She snapped back to reality when she noticed all the girls looking intensely at her as if they were waiting for her to answer a question. “Huh…I’m sorry, my mind was off, what did you all say again?” mumbled Ali, knowing that she had been caught staring.

“I was just asking how experienced you are at skiing. Oh and by the way, the lady over there is Ash. Do you want me to introduce you to her?” asked the guy.

When Ash heard her name, she looked up and her gaze instantly locked with Ali’s. She couldn’t say why but the beautiful brunette standing in the room took her breath away. Even though they looked at each other for a few seconds, it felt like an eternity. As soon as she realized what was happening, she left her table and stepped towards the group. “Hi guys, I hope my brother has been taking great care of you. If he hasn’t, just tell me and I’ll kick his ass,” Ash playfully punched her brother arm, “I’m Ashlyn by the way. Ashlyn Harris. And if you’re looking for a snowboard teacher, I’m the right one,” she added, locking eyes again with Ali.

“Weeell we are actually skiing but if you know a ski teacher as hot as you, I’m all in,” winked Pinoe. Ali chuckled before giving her a hard look. “What? That was a joke,” Pinoe innocently put her arms in front of her, “Now that I’m thinking about it, didn’t you say you would like to try to snowboard?” continued Pinoe.

“I’ve never sai-”, Pinoe elbowed Ali, forcing her to understand what she was trying to do, “-hum, yeah I actually did say that, thanks for reminding me,” Ali blushed before blurting out, “I-I think I would actually like that…I mean if you’re okay with it.”

“ I would be more than happy to help you out, when would you like to start? I’m pretty free this week” Ashlyn talked as if Ali was the only one in the room, completely forgetting the presence of the others. 

“I don’t know, I guess it’s too late for this morning.”

Ashlyn laughed. “I think you’re right about that, it’s almost eleven thirty and you still have to choose your snowboard. I have to give a lesson at noon but what about this afternoon at 2? You’ll be my last client.”

“That would be perfect. Where do we meet?”

“At the main ski lift where you can buy your ski pass. I actually have to go now but my brother will set you up with all the material. Have a nice day ladies, and hum…what’s your name?” Ashlyn was embarrassed not to have asked Ali’s name before.

“Oh, sorry I haven’t introduced myself, I’m Ali.” They exchanged a handshake and both of them felt an electric charge passing between their hands. Time froze for an instant before they broke the contact.

“Nice to meet you Ali, can’t wait for our afternoon lesson,” winked Ashlyn before exiting the room.

************

The group of friends stayed about half an hour in the rental shop before going back to their condo. Carrying all their material wore them off and they decided that lunch couldn’t do them any harm. Ali and Kelley volunteered to rush to the grocery store and bring back food to make sandwiches. When they came back, they found Pinoe already dressed up in her ski clothes, with her helmet and goggles on. She was jumping on the couch, showing Crystal how she was supposed to move her hips when on her skis. Crystal was holding her ribs, not able to control herself from laughing.  
Kelley made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and they ate them quickly since they wanted to hit the slopes as soon as possible. All the girls were ready except Ali, who didn’t seem able to find an outfit. “Come on Ali, what you are wearing under your ski clothes doesn’t matter, you’re not getting naked in the snow,” said Kelley. 

“Mmmmh I wouldn’t be so sure about that, considering how the hot blond teacher seemed to be undressing Ali with her eyes, I bet it won’t be long til-” joked Pinoe.

“Shut up, Pinoe. We don’t even know each other at all. Besides she’s just here to teach me how to snowboard.”

“Especially since how bad you wanted to try snowboarding,” Pinoe said ironically.

“Girls, please stop. Ali, just put that shirt on, it’s fine. And Pinoe, what about you try to find a nice girl for you instead of embarrassing Ali,” said Kelley, “Let’s go now,” putting an end to the conversation.

************

Five minutes later, the girls were all walking in their ski boots (and snowboard boots for Ali). Crystal had trouble to walk without loosing her balance and she complained the entire way to the main lift about how ridiculous she looked walking like a constipated robot. She also had some trouble carrying her skies on her shoulder and they just kept falling. She gave up and just tried to hold them in her arms. As for Pinoe and Kelley, they were walking like pros. They perfectly placed their skis on their right shoulder and were holding the sticks with their left hand. 

They chatted while waiting in the line for ski pass and it was almost two when they went in the line to get on the lift, leaving Ali alone. Ali was actually happy that the girls left her because she didn’t want Pinoe to witness her encounter with her snowboard teacher. Her nerves were killing her when she spotted Ashlyn and her client, slowly making their way down the slope. She watched carefully the way Ash was smiling and patiently helping her client every time he fell. Ali couldn’t help herself but finding the blond girl very sweet. Even though she had just met the girl that day, she deeply wanted to get to know her, something about her just felt right.


	3. When Ali is awkward when snowboarding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The snowboard lesson everyone has been waiting for (and an annoying Pinoe).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I think I'll try to update once a week(-ish) but I can't promise anything because sometimes I'm just lazy hahaha  
> Hope you like it!

As Ashlyn was walking toward her, Ali felt really nervous and wondered if she should shake her hand or a simple Hey would be enough.

“Hey Ali!”

Before Ali had time to proceed Ashlyn was already hugging her. Ali was caught out of guard and froze. She definitely wasn’t the kind of person who liked any kind of physical contact with people she barely knew and she usually avoided hugs as much as she could. She just wasn’t a hugger. Not her cup of tea. The hug didn’t last long at all and Ali didn’t have time to reciprocate and stood there awkwardly.  
“Hope you didn’t mind the hug, that’s just who I am.”  
“…Hum…no…no, not at all!” Ali was telling the truth. She actually wished the hug lasted longer which was not how her normal self would have reacted. 

“Ready for your first lesson?”

“I guess so, not really looking forward to falling down”, replied Ali.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to catch you”, winked Ashlyn, “But before riding down the slope, we gotta find a way to go up, what about hiking?”

“What???”

“…ooor we could just take the lift. I was messing with you.” Ashlyn said between laughter, she was really enjoying messing with Ali. “Oh my God, of course you were kidding! I’m sorry I am so serious today, I guess I am just worried about snowboarding” Ali reddened. It wasn’t even five minutes into the lesson that she was already making a fool of herself. 

“ You shouldn’t be, the worst that can happen is just falling on your butt a couple times…or more than a couple but it doesn’t hurt. Plus like I said, I am here to help you. I’ve been giving snowboarding lessons for a few years now and usually my students are doing great not long after their first lessons. I’m not bragging or anything but I might be the best teacher in town” laughed Ashlyn.

“Well I see that you have a lot of self-confidence” Ali didn’t know where that was coming from. Usually she wasn’t one to be sassy with strangers.

“I would rather say that I always have talented clients” Ashlyn winked while making her way to the lift. She explained to Ali how to fix her foot on the snowboard and how to take the lift without falling. Ali was a little bit scared but when the lift came, it slowed down. All Ali could concentrate on was Ashlyn’s hand on her back to guide her on the seat.   
During the ride, they made small talk and it wasn’t long before they reached the top of the slope. As soon as Ali’s snowboard touched the ground, it didn’t slide on the snow the way she wanted and she was already picturing herself on all fours when she felt two strong arms putting her back up. Ashlyn was used to this, knowing that the first landing was the hardest and that usually her clients didn’t know how to react. She helped Ali finding her balance back and then they moved to the side. She tried to reassure Ali who definitely looked panicked after the lift episode. She knew that her client needed a small break so she opted for a 5 minutes warm-up without the board on. Ali was reluctant to go back on her board and it took Ash a few tries to convince her to do so. She then explained the basics of snowboarding. Ali was intensely listening to her as if her life depended on it, which Ashlyn found quite endearing. Usually her clients couldn’t wait to try snowboarding and didn’t pay attention to her explanations before falling a few times which finally made them understand that, yes, if you don’t bend your knee, there is no way you will be able to turn.

“So you are saying that if I do everything you just said, I could get down the slope in one piece?”, timidly asked Ali.

“Technically yes, but then like I said, it usually takes a couple of tries before really getting the hang of it. Honestly don’t think too much and just go for it.”

“Easier said than done”, mumbled Ali.

“I’ll tell you what, if you manage to stand up for five seconds before falling by the end of our lesson, I’ll give you a chocolate”, Ashlyn flashed a smile showing her dimple. 

“Are you trying to bribe me with food? Because it totally worked. Let’s goooo”, Ali turned herself in direction of the slope and started picking up speed. 

She was quite impressed of herself and turned to smile to Ashlyn but suddenly she felt the board gripping on the snow and not even a second later she was lying in the snow, not understanding what had happened.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I’ve got snow on my neck, it’s so cold”, shrieked Ali, “aaaaaaah it’s melting, so cold”.

“Ali, breathe. Snow is indeed cold and it sometimes goes to worse places than your neck, believe me”, winked Ash.

“Oh like where?”, Ali suddenly didn’t think much about the snow on her neck.

“I’ll tell you on the ride back up. Now is time for you to get up and try again. Don’t forget to bend your knees and use your arms to get a rotation going. You’ve got this and don’t forget the chocolate”, cheered the blond snowboard teacher. 

Ali got up quickly and this time she stood up for a longer time. The problem was that she was picking up speed and at the same time losing control of her board. She tried to turn by using her arms as a lever like Ashlyn explained to her but it didn’t seem to work. She saw no other option than throwing herself on her butt and it took a few seconds before she finally came to a stop.

“Great, now my pants are wet”, sighed Ali while lying completely still on her back, eyes closed. 

“Well I didn’t know you were that attracted to your hot snowboard teacher”, teased a very familiar voice.   
Ali opened her eyes and rolled them at Pinoe. She didn’t want to deal with her right now. She had already fallen twice, she was cold, her clothes were all wet and she was sure Ashlyn thought she was awkward. She didn’t need Pinoe to interfere in her private lesson by making snarky comments in front of her very attractive teacher. She was about to ask Pinoe not so nicely to just go away when she noticed that Ashlyn was standing right behind her, a smirk on her lips.

“The hot teacher doesn’t want people to disturb the lesson, so it would be nice of you to leave Ali alone for a little while. Don’t worry, I’ll give her back to you in an hour. Do you think you can survive?”

“Yeah of course, “ shrugged Pinoe, “totally understand. Must already be hard enough for Ali to concentrate”. With that, Pinoe took off, leaving Ali still on her back, her eyes fuming.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry about her. Sometimes she is just a pain in the ass, I just can’t with her. She loves messing with me and I hate it, especially when she does it in front of other people. It’s embarrassing…”, ranted Ali.

“Hey, nothing to be sorry for, we all have that friend who can sometimes be really annoying. Besides she said I was hot so I definitely can’t be mad at her”, smiled Ashlyn, “but now, what about I help you get back up so we can continue the lesson.” 

The blonde hold her hand out, waiting for the other girl to take it. Ali was still flustered by the recent events and all she wanted to do was to disappear off the face of earth and never come back. Pinoe had implied that she had a crush on her teacher and while she couldn’t deny it, she didn’t want Ashlyn to think that she took a lesson only because she thought she was hot. Of course that was part of the reason – Pinoe was actually the reason - but she also liked trying new things and since she had failed her first two attempts at snowboarding, her competitive streak was starting to come out. When she took Ashlyn’s hand, she promised herself not to get distracted and to focus on her new goal, getting down the slope on her board and not on her butt.


	4. When Ali is a badass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls are invited to a party by a certain someone (hum hum Ashlyn).  
> And also Ali is being a badass and giving a guy what he deserves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally picking up :D  
> Next update will be next week and feel free to leave me any comment.

By the end of the lesson, Ali had made progress. Ashlyn said so herself and gave her a KitKat bar as she promised. The two had parted their way too quickly to Ali’s liking but from what Ashlyn told her, she had to give a hand to a friend who owned a bar because tonight was one of the biggest party of the winter season, which Ali and her friends should definitely not missed. Ashlyn really emphasized that last part.

************

When Ali got back to the condo, the girls were discussing what they should do tonight. They all had different ideas and couldn’t decide because Kelley just wanted to go ice skating but Crystal being Crystal was feeling like going dancing to a club. Ali interjected to say that she heard somebody talking about a great party at a bar. She thought she was being subtle but given the smirks her friends gave her, she knew they didn’t buy her story.

“Somebody huh? Wouldn’t that somebody be that blonde girl you spend the afternoon with?”, hinted Kelley. “From what Pinoe told us, you seemed to really enjoy her company.”

“Fine, Ashlyn kindly invited all of us. Which by the way somebody here definitely doesn’t deserve to come. Yeah, I’m talking about you Pinoe. I’m still mad at you for your comment.”

“Come on, you know I was joking. Unless there was some truth to it…”. Pinoe started running towards one of the bedroom, trying to escape a fuming Ali. 

“Actually, instead of trying to kill me, I think you should be thanking me. I’m the one who suggested taking up snowboard, remember?”, continued Pinoe safely locked in the bedroom, “you can deny all you want but I saw it with my own eyes what happened when you laid your eyes on her. Everyone in the room felt it. I’m not saying you two are going to get married but I truly think there is something there. So instead of trying to kill me, just tell us how was this first lesson”.

“I really hate you sometimes Pinoe”, Ali sat on the floor, legs crossed, “but yeah you’re right. I do have a crush on her and I can’t explain to myself how it is possible because we only spent two hours together, which I was actually paying her for. I just want to get to know her”, Ali let a sigh escaped her lips, “but I don’t see the point since we’re leaving in five days.”

“Girls, we are going out tonight. To the party Ali talked about. It’s been a while since somebody caught your eyes Ali, so I don’t care if we are leaving in a few days or not, but you’re going to meet that hot girl of yours. Come on, let’s get ready!” Crystal excitedly jumped around.

************

It took the girls quite a long time to get ready. Well, actually it took Ali and Crystal a long time. Pinoe and Kelley were hanging out in the living room, watching some reality-show when the other two finally finished. A little bit before 8pm, the group walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

A bottle of wine later, they were slowly making their way to the bar, walking with heels on slippery sidewalks not being the best idea. Of course Pinoe didn’t have that problem because she was a Birkenstock kind of girl in the summer and a UGG one in winter. Comfort always prevailed. Different story for Ali and Crystal. With their high heels, both had opted for a quite short dress so when they heard music blasting from the bar, they couldn’t be more relieved to finally escape the cold. 

As soon as they entered the club, they ordered tequila shots to warm them up and then Crystal dragged them to the dancefloor. To say that Ali was distracted was an understatement, she hadn’t stopped trying to spot Ashlyn since they put a foot in the bar. Distracted is maybe not the right word. Focused is better. She was 100% focused on finding Ash. She was looking at the bar and trying to discern the waitresses in the crowd when Kelley nudged her.

“Holy shit! You didn’t tell me she was also a DJ. That’s so hot”

“What? I can’t hear you”, Ali shouted through the music. Kelley just started frantically pointing to the DJ booth across the dancefloor. Ali turned her head and saw Ashlyn. There she was, wearing a muscle tee showing off her strong tattooed-arms, one hand holding the headset to her ear, the other alternating between touching the turntable and pumping in the air. She must have felt someone observing her because she suddenly looked directly at where Ali was and their eyes locked. Time seemed to stop but Ali was brutally brought back to reality when a man started grinding behind her. She rolled her eyes which made Ashlyn smile. Ali turned around and tried telling the guy that she wasn’t interested. He seemed to understand but two seconds later, he was back at it. One thing Ali didn’t like was people hitting on her not taking the clue of her disinterest, especially after she politely let them down. But the other thing Ali hated the most was people interrupting her. Especially when she was having a moment with someone else. Especially when that someone else was Ashlyn. So when Pinoe saw Ali’s soft face changing, she knew that guy was in deep trouble. He had awoken Bulldozer-Ali that destroyed everything crossing her way. There was no escape. When Ali’s gaze crossed his, time stopped again. Not for the same reason though. The guy knew something was wrong when he was met by Ali’s fuming eyes. He knew what was going to happen when he saw Ali raising her foot. Her armed foot with stiletto. His eyes went wide and before he was fully aware of the turn of the events, the moment was over and a stabbing pain made its way from - what is sometimes referred as - family jewels to his brain. Useless to say he went as far as possible from Ali as fast as his pain allowed him. Some girls around Ali clapped and whistled while others were just shocked. 

Fifteen minutes later, Ali felt someone hugging her from behind.

“Hey Ali, I’m glad you came! That was quite a show back there, didn’t know you had it in you, everyone is still talking about the beautiful woman who kicked Jack in the nuts”, said a new but already familiar voice.  
“Well I don’t like when people can’t take the hint I’m not interested. He was not my type and had to learn it the hard way.”

“Oh I’m sure he deserved it. He’s actually quite known here for hitting on women too strongly. I’m glad he finally got a lesson from a strong independent woman. I think a drink is in order to congratulate you, follow me to the bar?”

“Mmh so I am a strong independent women?”, smirked Ali.

“Definitely, and beautiful I might add”, winked Ash, leading Ali to the bar.

Three drinks later, the pair looked quite smitten at a table in a corner. Ali couldn’t stop herself gushing over Ashlyn’s tattoos, tracing patterns on Ash’s arm. She wanted her to tell the meaning of each one but due to the loud music and the setting, it was quite hard to have a personal conversation. The alcohol kicking in gave Ali the courage to suggestively ask Ashlyn if she wanted to go dance with her on the dancefloor.

Two minutes later, they were in the middle of the dancefloor, their bodies facing each other and moving in rhythm with the music. Ashlyn’s hands rested on Ali’s hips. Their eyes were locked, desire burning through them. As a slower song started, Ashlyn leaned her forehead against Ali’s. Both felt something passing between them, some kind of intimate energy that they had never experienced before. It was as if they were the only one on the dancefloor. They couldn’t quite depict what was happening but they both knew deep down they had never felt that before. They were pulled by an inexplicable force, wanting to be as physically close as possible. Their noses were now touching. Just as Ashlyn was leaning in, a drunk Kelley stumbled over them, forcing them to take a step back. 

“Heeeeeey guyyyyyyys how is it gooooing? This party is aaaaawesome”. As soon as she said that, she tripped over her own feet and spilled the beer she was holding on Ashlyn.

“Oh maaaaaan, I’m soooooo sorry”Kelley blurted out. She looked as if she was about to throw up. “I think… I got too much to drink”.

Ali gave Ashlyn an apologetic look while helping Kelley steading herself. She knew that she had to find the other girls and get back to the condo for the sake of Kelley but she couldn’t resolve herself to say goodbye to Ashlyn. As if understanding her internal struggle, Ashlyn went to the other side of Kelley and helped dragging Kelley off the dancefloor. As they approached the entrance, Ali spotted Crystal dealing with the same situation as her, dragging a drunk Megan behind her. Ashlyn insisted to escort them home, arguing that given the state of their two friends, another pair of hands was much needed.

************

Ashlyn’s was leaning against the door frame of the girls’ apartment.

“Well I think I should get going, I have work tomorrow morning. I had a great evening and once again, it was so badass what you did to Jack.” 

“Oh thanks. I really liked the part when I got to meet the DJ of the party. Do you think maybe I could get her number? You know just in case I want to get a second snowboard lesson tomorrow because from what I’ve heard she’s also a snowboard teacher.” Ali innocently asked.

“Second snowboard lesson huh? I have one problem though, tomorrow is actually my day off and I don’t take any client but,” Ashlyn paused, looking at a slightly deflated Ali, “what about we make it a snowboard date instead followed by a coffee date?”

“Two dates in a row? You’re feeling quite confident, I like it.”

They swapped phone number before Ashlyn hugged Ali goodnight.


End file.
